Everyday Canvas

For Writing's Sake: Eavesdropping

Prompt: Elizabeth Strout says she listens in others’ conversations a lot, and in one of her books, she lets one of her characters say, “People are always telling you who they are” even when they are talking about other things. Do you agree? Do you favor this method of seeing into people, then using it in your writing?

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Yes, I agree. Listening in on conversations and taking an interest in other people creates a habit of observation that will not let a writer down when he needs new ideas.

Even though many of us are chastened from childhood for eavesdropping, listening in on random conversations helps give authenticity to one’s writing and improves the dialogue in the stories because the ways of expression and local vernacular never stays the same.

Some writers carry a laptop to type what they hear, but that can be risky as someone may peek over your shoulder and get mad at you for not minding your own business. I find a small pad or small pieces of paper to jot down the overheard conversations works better, or if you have a good memory, you can listen first and write down later.

I find hair salons, car repair stations, car dealers, airports, restaurants, coffee shops, doctors’ and hospitals’ waiting rooms--where people are more talkative---are good places for listening in on others’ words. It also helps if you can glance about and at people without arousing suspicion, so you can also catch the gestures and nonverbal communications, too. Most of the time, what they say is secondary, but what is implied or hidden can be priceless. What can be difficult is when people speak or complain in a meandering stream of consciousness; then, if you can manage to catch at least a few choice sentence fragments, they could add drama to your writing.

I wrote about something that happened to me more than two decades ago in an earlier journal. For comedy’s sake, I’ll repeat it again. We were in a restaurant and I had a notebook with me that I was writing into. At that time, cell phones and pads were not of the quality of what they are today. The restaurant staff thought I was a food critic writing about their restaurant, as in those days, food critics had something to do with a restaurant’s success, and it was known that they carried notebooks with them. I didn’t accept nor deny the question when they diplomatically asked about it because I didn’t want to show them what I had written. We were very well treated after that.

Then, there was another time when I told a busybody that I was writing a grocery list. Maybe I was too conspicuous, but these things can happen. These days, however, with people constantly talking on their cells through their earpieces and all the weird actions that go on, no one seems to mind an old woman taking notes with pen and paper.